ondrej

Chapter 20

        The two of us arrived in Channelside Sunday evening, greeted by a well-lit condo. It caught me off guard as the guys were usually out to dinner around this time and his parents left that Saturday back to the Czech Republic. The drive over was silent and Ondrej refused to let me help him up to the thirteenth floor, even though it wasn't much walking anyway. I was babying him, whether I could help it or not, and nothing he could say would make me change my mind about it either. 

        The living room was filled with laughter and light voices. I made out it was Tyler and Richard but with a softer, more feminine voice mixed it. I assumed it was Tyler's not-girlfriend he always talked about and went to drop Dre's bags in his room without batting an eye. When I returned, I realized my assumption was far from correct.

        She sat on the leather couch, her beautiful, healthy blonde hair in a ponytail braid, with her head turned to look back at Ondrej. My heart shot in my chest and my pulse beat like a bass drum. It rang in my ears and caused a swelling sensation in my throat. I thought my legs were going to give out at any moment but I continued to watch, curious to see everyone's reactions. 

        "Barbora." Ondrej stated, keeping his eyes locked on hers. I

         looked to Tyler who was sitting in the recliner with his forearms resting on his knees. I wasn't entirely sure if I was dreaming or not- or a nightmare rather- but I hoped Tyler would give me some sort of an answer. 

        "Ondrej." She said.

        Her voice was light and cute. Cuter than mine; cuter than I could ever even try to make mine. She stood, showing off her slim figure. Her clothes held tight to her curves, literally rubbing it in my face that she indeed had no flaws. 

        Ondrej didn't look to me. He was probably as starstruck as I was, the fact his ex-girlfriend, one he wasn't entirely over with, was standing in the middle of his living room. I was certain she didn't know I was in the room and from the looks of it, neither did he. He looked at her the way he did when he talked about her; all the questions left unanswered, all the emotions afterwards, they all showed through with that one look. 

        I quietly stepped back into the dark hallway and pushed into Ondrej's bedroom. After shutting the door, I took a seat at the edge of the bed and let out a shaky breath. Ondrej never looked at me like that. Even thinking back to January, I couldn't recall that look. The look of confusion and undeniable love, mixed with despair and a broken heart. He loved her. He still did. 

        There was a knock at the door and I quickly swiped the tears off my cheeks and cleared the thickness from my throat, "Come in!" With that, Tyler slipped into the room and shut the door behind him. 

        "Hey." He said, stepping towards the bed.

        I pressed my lips together and looked up at him. It wasn't even worth hiding the fact that I was crying; the tears were still coming. As much as I wanted to pretend it didn't affect me, it was obvious it did. 

        "Why is Barbora here?"

        He sat on the bed and looked at the blank wall with me. It took him a while to find the right words to say.

        "Nicola told her about the injury and she got on the first plane to Tampa."

        I choked out a sob, "Why?"

        Tyler immediately wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him.

        "I can take care of him. She doesn't need to help."

        I was hysterical at that point. Not only was I jealous, but also I was completely and utterly crushed. In the back of my mind I knew the only reason they didn't work things out again was because she was so far away and now that she was here..

        Tyler shushed me and pulled me closer to him, my head resting on his shoulder.

        "What if they work things out again?" I choked out.

        Tyler didn't say anything this time and I knew why. I had no doubt in my mind Ondrej liked me, but those feelings would never compare to those towards Barbora. All the things Tyler told me about her added up and even talking to Ondrej about her, told me everything I needed to know. 

        I wanted to leave. I wanted to walk out and just forget the last four months of my life, pretend they never happened and move on. Let Ondrej recover with her and let them be together again. It was obvious that's what they both wanted and I didn't have the right to get between that. 

        I moderately collected myself and stood.

        "Kaytie, sit down." Tyler demanded.

        I just shook my head and grabbed my purse off the top of Ondrej's duffel bag and stormed out into the hallway. There I found Richard sitting at the bar on his phone and Ondrej and Barbora completely engulfed in a conversation. It was all in Czech so I didn't even bother. His back was turned to me and her eyes never left him. My getaway would've been successful if it wasn't for Tyler stomping behind me. 

        "Kay, wait." Tyler called from behind me.

        Then both their faces turned to me. Barbora's flawless, tanned face gave a confused expression then looked to Ondrej then back to me. Ondrej, on the other hand, sealed his lips shut and looked to the ground. That was all I needed. I walked out of the apartment and never expected to return at that point.